9-1 Final Project Submission: Human Resources Strategy Proposal and Professional Reflection
9-1 Final Project Submission: Human Resources Strategy Proposal and Professional Reflection
OL 751 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric
OverviewAs the final step in your journey toward your Master of Science in Human Resource Management, you will complete a capstone that integrates the knowledgeand skills you have developed in previous coursework and over the duration of the term. Overall, as you have seen in your course of studies, human resources(HR) is often viewed as a service department for the other departments and is not often enough seen as a partner in decision-making practices. To this end, youwill create a strategy proposal that seeks to reposition HR from a simple administrative function to a key strategic role within an organization. Your capstoneshould showcase your skills and abilities relative to how you plan to be active during the decision-making process and situate yourself as a strategic asset on parwith a middle or senior management position. You will also reflect on your journey through the Human Resource Management program and how your goals andplans fit within the profession.
Evaluation of CapstoneThis capstone will be assessed somewhat differently from other courses you have taken online at SNHU. There are two separate components, but they bothoperate together to make up the whole capstone experience and are not assessed separately. You will be evaluated on both of them as a unit in determiningwhether you have demonstrated proficiency in each outcome. Your instructor will guide you through this process, keeping a running narrative of your strengthsand weaknesses in relation to the outcomes as you progress through the class. Your work is expected to meet the highest professional standards.
This assessment will address the following outcomes:
Leverage effective customer service and negotiation strategies that build engaging relationships with stakeholders through trust, teamwork, and directcommunication
Integrate appropriate talent development and workforce planning strategies to effectively align employee competencies with business goals and providea measurable return on investment for an organization
Operate as an effective business partner and leader in human resources through clear, concise, and accurate communication skills
Protect the integrity of the business, its employees, and its management practices through appropriate risk management and legal and ethical practices
Recommend appropriate evidence-based strategies that integrate sound, data-driven analysis and critical decision making to support the goals, vision,and mission of the organization
Articulate the importance of a global outlook and cross-cultural approach for human resource professionals in the interest of improving culturalcompetence and valuing the commonalities, values, and individual uniqueness of organizational members
Advance an organization’s vision and mission through effective leadership strategies that foster collaboration, promote consensus, and guide theorganization through adversity and change with resilience and agility
Design, implement, and evaluate strategic human resource programs that deliver customized human resource solutions for organizational challengesand contribute to the success of the business
PromptDevelop a human resource strategy proposal that outlines your recommendations for a complete strategic HR overhaul that will advance the globalcompetitiveness of your chosen organization. Be sure to support your proposal with evidence and research you have gathered during your time in this course.
Component One: Human Resources Strategy ProposalFor the first of two capstone components, you will develop a well-organized HR strategy proposal that should lay the foundation for a solid plan to move the HRfunction from its present state (administrative or technical) to a strong, strategic player within the organization.
You must first choose a company and then describe how you plan to position yourself and your department professionally as a strategic member of theorganization. You may choose a real-world company with instructor approval. Keep in mind that the company you choose must be one that already competes atthe global level or has the potential to compete in the global arena.
The following sections should be included, but you are not limited to them:
I. Cover Letter: This should be a professionally appropriate business letter addressing the senior management of your company. The letter should brieflyintroduce the intent of your proposal and detail the various parts that are to come (the proposal itself and how you would implement the proposal,should it be approved). The letter should also use information and evidence supporting your plan that would excite your target audience into readingyour proposal.
II. The HR Strategy Proposal: This should include a detailed plan of how you will advance the organization’s vision and mission through effective leadershipstrategies that foster collaboration, promote consensus, and guide the organization through adversity and change with resilience and agility. Dataanalysis should be provided to further support your proposal and should also include opposing viewpoints on this issue and explain how your strategy ispreferable. Overall, your analysis should highlight how the HR department will operate as an effective business partner and leader.
Your strategy proposal should include, on the whole, a synthesis of the themes and ideas that you have learned during your time in the program.Specifically, your HR proposal should include the following:
o A global outlook and cross-cultural approach for human resource professionals in the interest of improving cultural responsiveness andcapitalizing on the commonalities, values, and individual uniqueness of organizational members
o Appropriate evidence-based strategies that integrate sound, data-driven analysis and critical decision making to support the goals, vision, andmission of the organization
o An evaluation of how the department will continue protecting the integrity of the business, its employees, and its management practicesthrough appropriate risk management and legal and ethical practices
o A plan of how to effectively leverage effective customer service and negotiation strategies that build engaging relationships with stakeholdersthrough trust, teamwork, and direct communication
III. Implementation: In this section, you should explain how you would approach employee management at the chosen organization should this proposal be
accepted. If the changes you have proposed are accepted, include strategies on how to manage talent development and workforce planning, followedby an analysis of a measureable return on investment. You should also include how the role of the human resources department would change withregard to employee negotiations and interactions.
IV. Conclusion: In this final section of the text, you will summarize your proposal and explain how and why your HR strategy proposal is worthy ofimplementation, while highlighting the practical implications of your proposal for your target audience(s). You should also discuss how you will ensurethat your proposal conforms to common business ethical standards.
Guidelines for Submission: Your Component One submission should be 15 to 20 pages in length (in addition to elements such as the title page and referencepages). The document should use double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. It should follow professional industry standards andinclude all necessary elements that one would find in a research proposal. It should include a title page, table of contents, professional bibliography, andappendices, if applicable. The information should be cited according to the rules in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, sixthedition. You may include illustrations, photographs, graphs and charts, and other nontextual materials as needed to support the underpinning proposal (thoughall of the latter should be placed in an appendix or appendices if used).
Component Two: Professional ReflectionFor the second and final component of your final project, you will write an essay in which you discuss the process and outcomes of this project, as well as howyour coursework culminated in the project. This may include discussions of unforeseen problems or obstacles, and any surprises. The essay should also discussyour identified strengths and problems that you encountered while completing the project. Finally, the essay will examine how the final project will be useful inthe job market or in furthering your education.
You should envision this component as a personal reflection on the capstone and your experience in the Human Resource Management program as a whole. Forinstance, relative to the capstone, you could discuss what you did (or intended to do) and then consider what worked well, what challenges you faced, and whatyou would change or do differently to make your experience better. In reflecting on your time here at SNHU, you might discuss where you started, where youhave ended up, where you see yourself going, and so on. Note that this component is not about evaluating the capstone itself but rather your experience withinthe capstone project.
Some of the topics that you could address in this final component of this capstone may include the following:
Overall, what was your capstone experience like?
Reflect on the significance of the capstone in relation to your own experience at SNHU.
What connections do you see between your capstone and your academic program?
How will you apply what you have learned to your future academic and/or professional life?
MilestonesMilestone One: Strategy Proposal OutlineIn Module Two, you will choose your organization by reviewing companies of interest to you. You will also submit an outline that concisely provides a high leveloverview of the structure your final project will take. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone One Rubric.
Milestone Two: Cover LetterIn Module Three, you will submit a draft of the first part of your final submission, the cover letter. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Two Rubric.
Milestone Three: Proposal ContentIn Module Five, you will submit a draft of your HR proposal, which should highlight how the HR department, under your leadership, will operate as an effectivebusiness partner. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Three Rubric.
Milestone Four: Implementation and ConclusionIn Module Seven, you will submit a draft of the final two sections (implementation and conclusion) of your proposal. This milestone completes your detailed HRproposal, which should include, on the whole, a combination of the concepts that you have learned during your time in the Human Resource Managementprogram. This milestone will be graded with the Milestone Four Rubric.
Final Project Submission: Human Resources Strategy Proposal and Professional ReflectionIn Module Nine, you will submit your completed strategy proposal based on your work throughout this course. Additionally, you will write a short personalreflection on your experiences and what you learned throughout this capstone course, your process in developing your HR strategy proposal, and yourexperience in the Human Resource Management program.
Final Project RubricThis rubric will be applied to both components as a whole, and neither component will be assessed on its own. The “Possible Indicators of Success” are examplesfor you and the instructor of the types of concepts to look for to demonstrate proficiency. They are neither exhaustive nor proscriptive and should be used asguides for illustrating how your capstone embodies the outcome. All outcomes are weighted equally.
OL-751-01: Leverage effective customer service and negotiation strategies that build engaging relationships withstakeholders through trust, teamwork, and direct communication
Proficient100%
Not Proficient0%
Possible Indicators of Success
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to leverage effective communication among key stakeholders?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to articulate sound negotiation strategies in an effort to build effective relationships with internal stakeholders?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to build engaging relationships with target audiences?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to potentially gain trust and encourage teamwork through direct communication activities?
OL-751-02: Integrate appropriate talent development and workforce planning strategies to effectively align employeecompetencies with business goals and provide a measurable return on investment for an organization
Proficient100%
Not Proficient0%
Possible Indicators of Success
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to forecast a talent development strategy that aligns with current and future organizational strategic goals?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to plan a future workforce strategy that aligns with current and future organizational strategic goals?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to provide a measurable return on investment for an organization?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to potentially identify and capitalize on employee competencies as they relate to business goals and sustainability?
OL-751-03: Operate as an effective business partner and leader in human resources through clear, concise, and accuratecommunication skills
Proficient100%
Not Proficient0%
Possible Indicators of Success
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to become an effective business partner by demonstrating high-value, business-enhancing strategic contributionsfocused on organizational strategic goals and sustainability?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to lead the human resource function from a low-value transactional and/or administrative function to one thatsignificantly contributes to building and sustaining the organization’s competitive advantage?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to potentially collaborate with key stakeholders in the dissemination of information and crafting of professionalcommunications that align with the needs and dispositions of targeted audiences?
OL-751-04: Protect the integrity of the business, its employees, and its management practices through appropriate riskmanagement and legal and ethical practices
Proficient100%
Not Proficient0%
Possible Indicators of Success
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to devise a plan for the analysis of data and critique opposing viewpoints in ways that meet business ethicalstandards and protect the integrity of the business?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to identify ethical practices and standards within an organization that could adversely affect management andemployees resulting from the implementation of the HR proposal?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to mitigate risk by incorporating human capital management theories, models, and tools into the proposal?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to evaluate how HR will continue protecting the integrity of the business, its employees, and its managementpractices through appropriate risk management and legal and ethical practices?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to create a framework for practice that promotes legal and ethical approaches to human resource management?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to assess the capstone experience for its application to future academic and/or professional life?
OL-751-05: Recommend appropriate evidence-based strategies that integrate sound, data-driven analysis and criticaldecision making to support the goals, vision, and mission of the organization
Proficient100%
Not Proficient0%
Possible Indicators of Success
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to understand and integrate evidence-based HR and business strategies in supporting the organizational goals,vision, and mission?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to interpret and recommend HRM-based metrics or appropriate HR strategies that integrate sound, data-drivenanalysis in supporting the organizational goals, vision, and mission?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to make critical decisions enhancing strategic contributions focused on supporting the organizational goals, vision,and mission?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to integrate and synthesize an analysis of the scholarly debate among subject matter experts and HR professionalsfor recommending appropriate evidence-based strategies?
OL-751-06: Articulate the importance of a global outlook and cross-cultural approach for human resource professionalsin the interest of improving cultural competence and valuing the commonalities, values, and individual uniqueness oforganizational members
Proficient100%
Not Proficient0%
Possible Indicators of Success
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to evaluate and articulate the importance of a global outlook as it relates to an organization’s HR strategies?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to interpret the importance of diversity and its relevance in breaking down cultural barriers within an organization?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to appropriately address and capitalize on the commonalities, values, and individual uniqueness of organizationalmembers?
OL-751-07: Advance an organization’s vision and mission through effective leadership strategies that fostercollaboration, promote consensus, and guide the organization through adversity and change with resilience and agility
Proficient100%
Not Proficient0%
Possible Indicators of Success
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to articulate effective leadership strategies focused on supporting the organizational goals, vision, and mission?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to address the need to foster collaboration, promote consensus, and guide an organization through adversitythroughout the HR proposal?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to potentially maintain resilience and agility when implementing a HR strategy?
OL-751-08: Design, implement, and evaluate strategic human resource programs that deliver customized humanresource solutions for organizational challenges and contribute to the success of the business
Proficient100%
Not Proficient0%
Possible Indicators of Success
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to design a comprehensive and implementation-worthy HR proposal that articulates the vision of where thecompany’s HR function should be and how it plans to get there in relation to where it is positioned currently?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to evaluate multiple strategic HR programs and incorporate them into a strategic HR proposal aimed at contributingto the success and sustainability of the business?
Does student demonstrate his or her ability to create and present a professional final product that delivers a customized HR solution to overcome organizationalchallenges designed to contribute to the success and sustainability of the business?